That time where I want you to dig deep, grit your teeth, and pick your absolute FAVORITE THINGS OF THE YEAR. In each, you will pick one favorite thing — not three, not two. I want you to imagine that someone is dangling you over a pit, and in the pit is this goose. This goose will hurt you if you do not play by the rules. He’ll hurt you, your family, your friends. This is not a nice goose.

So: play by the rules.

Here, then, are the questions. Answer ’em in the comments as you see fit.

2) Favorite non-fiction book of the year? My research hasn’t involved new books this year, so I’m saying The Darkest Jungle: The True Story of the Darién Expedition and America’s Ill-fated Race to Connect the Seas, by Todd Balf

3) Favorite short story of the year? So many…

4) Favorite movie of the year? Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

5) Favorite TV show of the year? Constantine, Constantine, Constantine

8) Favorite video game? Assassin’s Creed: Unity, because despite the epic Ubi-Fail at its release, it’s easily the most beautiful game I’ve ever played (and Black Flag set the bar pretty high). Plummeting off the facade of Notre Dame into a hay-wagon you can barely see is ridiculously gut-chilling, it has even MORE things to do than Black Flag, and the fight mechanics seem to be improved.

9) Favorite app? Tri-Met’s (local public transit) ticket app, which allows me to buy tickets online and never fight with their station machines again.

10) Favorite [something else] of the year? Favorite nonprofit organization: the North American Falconers Association, which I’ve been a member of for about 20 years. I became the editor of their 3x-yearly magazine this fall, and the wash of support I’ve gotten from total strangers has been overwhelming (then again, getting up to speed on the job was overwhelming too). A great organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and the preservation of a sport/art/passion recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

My favorite book this year was The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco. It’s one of the greatest (and scariest) horror novels I’ve read in years. Its protagonist is endlessly fascinating. I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL BURN THIS WHOLE PLACE TO THE GROUND IF EVERYONE DOESN’T IMMEDIATELY STOP WHAT THEY’RE DOING AND READ THIS BOOK.

1) favorite novel of the year? ‘Severed Souls’ by Terry
2) favorite nonfiction book? Until Tuesday (Didn’t come out this year, but I just read it)
3)Favorite short story of the year? Sad to say I don’t have one, unfortunately
4)Favorite Movie of the year? Ouija
5)Favorite TV show of the year? Dexter all the way! (Again, not from this year,
But I’m not very on top of the latest trends :))
6) Favorite song of the year? Cherry Wine by Hozier
7)favorite album of the year? Abbey Road by the Beatles (I have my grandparents music tastes haha)
8)Favorite video game? Diablo
9)Favorite app? Uh…not too sure…my google docs app? :p
10) Favorite [something else] of the year? My best friend Riley, don’t know how I would get along without her 🙂

2) Favorite non-fiction book of the year?: Do magazines count? Because the only nonfiction thing I read (with the exclusion of the occasional educational website for research purposes) is Game Informer.

3) Favorite short story of the year?: I guess it would have to be Red Of The Woods by Lana Axe. I think that’s the only short story I’ve read this year

4) Favorite movie of the year?: It came out last year, but I only just got to see it this year. The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug.

5) Favorite TV show of the year?: Supernatural

6) Favorite song of the year?: Painkiller – Three Days Grace

7) Favorite album?: Shatter Me – Lindsey Stirling

8) Favorite video game?: I don’t get to buy games when they’re newly released, but my favorite game I’ve played this year is Dragon Age. And I’ve got my fingers crossed to get the new one for Christmas. It’s all I’ve talked about all year so surely somebody got the hint.

9) Favorite app?
Goodreads. Only fault is you can’t partake in the giveaways on the app. (If someone knows a way around this please let me know)

10) Favorite [something else] of the year?
Technology. Specifically, my phone. Samsung Galaxy S5. I adore the thing. Not as much as I adore different things or people, but probably more than I should admit I adore my phone.

1) Favorite novel of the year? Skin Game by Jim Butcher2) Favorite non-fiction book of the year? The Killer of Little Shepherds by Douglas Starr3) Favorite short story of the year? Broken Phoenix by Edmond Manning

4) Favorite movie of the year? Guardians of the Galaxy5) Favorite TV show of the year? Gotham6) Favorite song of the year? All of Me by John Legend (yes I know it’s from 2013, but I live in BFE and it didn’t start playing til this spring here)7) Favorite album? The Circus At The End Of The World by Abney Park (ditto what I said for song)8) Favorite video game? Criminal Case, yeah, it’s just a hidden object game on Facebook but I’m trying not to play games because I get too sucked into them.9) Favorite app? Mlife, a slot machine simulator that lets you earn points towards things in Vegas owned by the Mlife group (the Mirage etc). Okay technically this is one I think I’d like. I have a dumb phone…10) Favorite [something else] of the year? I’m going with favorite moment. Holding my very first published novel, Kept Tears, in my hands (couldn’t get the box from the publisher opened fast enough). A little self-centered? Yes, but it’s my favorites list so…

1) Favorite novel of the year? It’s not new by any means, but I really loved Hatching Magic by Ann Downer. I picked it up in an old second-hand bookstore, and it’s motivated me to keep working on my writing.

2) Favorite non-fiction book of the year? 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam. It’s really changed how I allocate time to various pursuits (work, writing, pleasure, general bullshitting, etc.)

3) Favorite short story of the year? Dude, anything by Raymond Carver.

4) Favorite movie of the year? Gone Girl was pretty good. I haven’t really watched any movies this year, so that one wins by default.

Hard choice but I’ll take Architects of Emortality by Brian Stableford

2) Favorite non-fiction book of the year?

Buh…. Drawing Down the Moon by Margret Adler? I can’t remember any other non fiction books I’ve read this year

3) Favorite short story of the year?

All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein

4) Favorite movie of the year?

Predestination. (this one and the last one are completely related). Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty spiffy too

5) Favorite TV show of the year?

Ru Paul’s Drag Race. Some incredibly high brow stuff

6) Favorite song of the year?

Claire’s Ninth by Ben Folds

7) Favorite album?

uh… Lonely Avenue by Ben Folds and Nick Hornby

8) Favorite video game?

FTL: Faster than Light if Binding of Isaac: Rebirth came out sooner that would have been it

9) Favorite app?

Pocket Frogs. I don’t use apps much but this is always my favourite.

10) Favorite [something else] of the year?

Shoot. This has been a good year for a lot of things. Uh lessee… I’ll go with my favourite moment of the year which is after I watched the musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, got the cast to sign the booklet and sat in man in chair’s chair. It was glorious, I have pictures

Just finished reading my favorite book of the year – it’s not a novel, non-fiction. Rick Bragg’s “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story,” is just amazing. Not just because Lewis is a – shall we say? – colorful character, and one of the four or five people who could legitimately be said to have invented rock ‘n’ roll, with all the high living and low deeds that implies. Bragg’s writing is so good. He doesn’t need me to say that, the Pulitzer on his shelf is enough. Jerry Lee Lewis was not an altogether admirable person, or even admirable at all, but he was unapologetic, and imbued with that tragic Southern nobility that borders on the comic. Bragg spent two years interviewing the Killer, and while he lets Lewis have his say, he doesn’t excuse anything or let him get away with anything. It’s an altogether fascinating book and Bragg writes the most beautiful prose I’ve ever read in a non-fiction book. If you care about rock ‘n’ roll or the America in the middle of the last century, you’ve got to read this one.

[…] stuff. Over on “Terrible Minds,” Chuck Wendig had the brilliant idea of doing an end-of-year wrap up that was based on audience participation, and I thought we’d try the same thing. (I’m an actor and a director of children’s […]

2) Favorite non-fiction book of the year?
READING BETWEEN THE WINES by Terry Thiese and MAKING MOVIES by Sidney Lumet. Neither were published this year, but both have had a big impact on my thinking about creativity, criticism, and passion. They’re about wine and film making, respectively, but feel almost universally applicable.

3) Favorite short story of the year?
Sadly, I don’t have one.

4) Favorite movie of the year?
JODOROWSKY’S DUNE. An 85 year-old whirlwind describing a dream project that would’ve included Dali, Mick Jagger, and H.R. Giger. What an artist. What passion. What a crazy man.

5) Favorite TV show of the year?
HIGH MAINTENANCE, showing on Vimeo. The best web series I’ve seen lately–it gets increasingly ambitious and sharper with each episode.

6) Favorite song of the year?
“Nara” by Alt-J. Although I am an unabashed fan of Jason Derulo’s ridiculous pop singles.

7) Favorite album?
THIS IS ALL YOURS by Alt-J. Possibly even more contemplative than the first album; also more disparate. Plus there’s a song about the ALIEN chest-burster scene called “The Gospel of John Hurt”!

8) Favorite video game?
I’m lax on my gaming, but I have been mindlessly replaying levels from GOLDENEYE I mastered 17 years ago. 2x throwing knives!

10) Favorite [something else] of the year?
Favorite movie-going experience of the year: Made a pilgrimage to the Alama Drafthouse in Kalamazoo, MI for a showing of THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, then an intermission at Bell’s Brewery, then a showing of 1983’s THE HUNGER (David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve as vampires), then a few hours of sleep, then back to the Drafthouse for a Saturday morning cartoon marathon complete with sugary cereal. What a magnificent birthday weekend.

[…] sci-fi/fantasy winter Chuck Wendig asked his readers to indicate their favourites for the year in 10 different categories. It is these 10 categories I will now attempt to answer solely with media from […]